The Gold Coast Suns have confirmed that young star Matt Rowell has suffered a PCL injury on the weekend.
The 19-year old hurt himself in a tackle in the first quarter of the Suns' loss to West Coast on Sunday, sitting out the remainder of the contest.
Rowell has avoided surgery but will be sidelined for an extended period in a bitter blow for the gun onballer.
The Suns announced in a statement on Tuesday that scans revealed PCL damage but could not determine a timeline on when he will return.
"The Gold Coast Sun can confirm that Matt Rowell is set to miss an extended period of time as he recovers from a knee injury," the statement reads.
"Scans have confirmed that the second - year midfielder sustained damage to his PCL in a tackle during the first quarter of the teamโs Round 1 loss to the West Coast Eagles.
"No timeline has been set for his return at this early stage, but he is expected to be available to play football again in 2021."
SEE ALSO: Injury updates from Round 1
Rowell took the AFL world by storm in his first four career games in 2020, already emerging as an elite midfielder of the competition.
However, a shoulder injury in Round 5 prematurely ended his season in a shattering blow for the youngster.
Suns General Manager of Football Jon Haines said it was an "unfortunate" setback given how hard Rowell has worked to return from his shoulder issue.
โItโs unfortunate for Matt as he had worked tirelessly to ensure he was ready to play after recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered last season,โ Haines toldย goldcoastfc.com.au.
โThe long - term health of his knee is positive. There is no specific timeline for his return at this stage and we will update as requiredโ.
